St. Louis coach Jim Montgomery walked around before Tuesday night’s Winter Classic, taking in the growing crowd and festive atmosphere. He thought about all the famous ballplayers who played at Wrigley Field.
“And here we are getting to play an NHL hockey game,” Montgomery said. “It’s just really cool.”
The Winter Classic returned to Wrigley on the final day of 2024, and the Chicago Blackhawks threw quite a party. Fireworks lit up the night sky at the home of the Chicago Cubs. The Smashing Pumpkins and Chance the Rapper performed, and actors Bill Murray and Jon Hamm received a big cheer when they appeared on the videoboard during the third period.
It was a very Chicago celebration, but St. Louis had all the fun. The Blues cruised to a 6-2 win over the Blackhawks in front of 40,933 fans, improving to 3-0 in the Winter Classic.
“This was an amazing experience for the fans and just for us, too,” said St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn. “Having family and friends here to experience something like that at Wrigley Field, an amazing thing, and then winning on top of it.”
Just a few weeks after being traded to St. Louis from Anaheim, Cam Fowler celebrated his 1,000th NHL game with two goals. The 33-year-old defenseman became the first player in NHL history to play outdoors for his 1,000th game.
The night, with everything coming together, was “pretty surreal,” Fowler said.
“Going through a lot of emotions the last few weeks getting adjusted to a new team,” he added. “But couldn’t have asked for anything more for this experience, getting to share it with my family. … It was an awesome night for all of us.”
For the Blackhawks, it was a different story. The team, which had lost five games in a row, was looking for answers.
Backed by the majority of a loud crowd, the Blackhawks started slowly, and the Blues took control with three goals in the second period. As the game ended, chants of “Let’s go Blues!” filled the air.
“You know, those tickets aren’t cheap for them to come and support us,” said Chicago forward Connor Bedard. “We, obviously, in our room are disappointed with ourselves. But I feel bad for our fan base coming out to this and we kind of lay an egg.”
The day started with Bedard and the Blackhawks — carrying their sticks and skates and wearing custom “Team Chicago” gear — riding one of the city’s famous elevated trains to Wrigley.
The team’s pregame clothes were designed to celebrate the connection between the franchise and the city. The outfits featured patches honoring Chicago’s first responders, and each player chose a charitable or community-based organization for their hat.
“It’s a neat thing to bring our community together, right?” said captain Nick Foligno. “And one of the big things we talked about was our first responders, too, and what they mean to our community and what they do for us. We wanted to highlight that and also highlight what means a lot to us.”
St. Louis wore gray sweatshirts and hats for their bus ride to the stadium. The hats had “99” on the front, and the shirts featured a round logo with “99” and “GRETZKY’S BASEMENT,” a nod to the hockey school connected to Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky.
“We just thought it would be a great opportunity to honor Wayne and everything he’s done for the game,” said Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. “He’s obviously an integral part in St. Louis, too.
He’s done a lot for the community there and still does, and he’s great to everyone in the organization and the guys, and we thought there’s no better way to show our appreciation than to do this today for him.”
The Blues had the visitor’s clubhouse at Wrigley, so they had to deal with a long stairway to get to and from the ice. As they often do when playing outdoors, they made the best of it.
“Just had to take your time,” said goaltender Jordan Binnington, smiling. “It kind of helped me focus for the game. Just one step at a time. We talk about that a lot and I was really taking it one step at a time because I did not want to go down.”
